Editorial: Add 1 number to the mix to benefit your health

File photo by Don Ryan / Associated PressWashougal Mayor Sean Guard, left, coaxes Camas Mayor Scott Higgins to step on the scales during their weigh-in in Washougal, Wash. The mayors of the two neighboring towns are in a "Biggest Loser" style contest to see which of the two communities can lose the most weight. New government projections suggest roughly 42 percent of Americans will be obese by 2030.

What’s your blood pressure? You almost certainly had it checked last time you saw your doctor, who told you the numbers – approvingly or less so – perhaps comparing your BP to its standing on your previous visit.

Who actually knows that? (Other than exercise fanatics who are obsessed with their own physique, that is.)

There’s been a recent push to change this, making BMI a regular part of a routine visit to the doctor’s office.

With an increasingly overweight and obese populace, letting patients know their BMI only makes sense.

To be sure, there’s some disagreement over how best to proceed from there. How do you get people to eat less – and to eat healthier – even as they exercise more?

No one said this would be easy.

For the record, BMI is a simple number that expresses one’s amount of body fat, calculated by comparing height and weight. Between 20 and 25 is where you want to be. Over 25 and up to 30 is considered overweight, while those topping 30 are seen as obese. To those who would argue that BMI isn’t a terribly refined tool, we would ask one simple question: How is it compared to nothing at all?

It’s a start, and it can give a doctor and her patient an idea about progress – or the clear lack thereof.

If you didn’t learn your BMI on your last visit to the doctor’s office, ask someone there what it is on your next trip. If they haven’t recorded it, ask them to do so. You can also do it yourself, as you need only your height and weight and one of the many available online BMI calculators.